In re Lake Grady Road & Bridge District

119 B.R. 844, 1990 Bankr. LEXIS 2096, 1990 WL 144254
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 24, 1990
DocketBankruptcy No. 87-1590-8P9
StatusPublished

This text of 119 B.R. 844 (In re Lake Grady Road & Bridge District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Lake Grady Road & Bridge District, 119 B.R. 844, 1990 Bankr. LEXIS 2096, 1990 WL 144254 (Fla. 1990).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION FOR ENTRY OF CERTIFICATE OF SUBSTANTIAL CONSUMMATION AND APPLICATION FOR FINAL DECREE

ALEXANDER L. PASKAY, Chief Judge.

THIS IS a confirmed Chapter 9 case of Lake Grady Road & Bridge District (Debt- or), a statutorily established special tax district created under the applicable provisions of Chapter 336, Fla.Stat. (1973). The matters under consideration are a Motion for Entry of Certificate of Substantial Consummation (Motion) and an Application for Final Decree (Application) filed by the Debtor. Also under consideration is any objection (Objection) to the Motion filed by Zaragosa Properties, Inc. (Zaragosa). These matters were set down for hearing in due course with notice to all parties in interest, at which time the Court heard argument of counsel for the respective parties and now finds the facts relevant to a resolution of the matters presented as appear from the record are as follows:

The Debtor filed its voluntary Petition for Relief under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code on March 26, 1987, and in due course filed its Plan for the Adjustment of Debts, as modified, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 941. The Plan basically provided that it would be funded by an entity known as Shadow Run, which appears to be a trade name for Zaragosa. According to the Plan and the Contract for Sale (Contract) entered into between the Debtor and Zarago-sa, Shadow Run was to furnish all funds necessary to consummate the Plan of Reorganization, to wit, $215,000 and in exchange, the Debtor would convey all its assets, less payment of professional fees, costs of administration and all expenses of operation, to Shadow Run free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims or interests of creditors. The Plan does not specify the assets which were to be transferred to Shadow Run; however, it appears that the assets include (1) the remaining cash on hand after paying operating expenses, (2) all outstanding tax certificates held by the Debtor, representing unpaid taxes by homeowners, and (3) an assignment of all causes of action with respect to construction of a dam located within the Debtor’s boundaries or any improvements, including, but not limited to, causes of action based on breach of contract, breach of warranty, or negligence to the extent these causes of action are transferrable under the general principles of law or under the Bankruptcy Code. The Contract further provides that in addition to payment of the $215,000, Zaragosa is to provide a maintenance bond for the dam located within the Debtor’s special tax district pending the dam’s acceptance by Hillsborough County, or, in the alternative, procure Hillsborough County’s acceptance of the dam.

It is without dispute that on January 15, 1988, the Court entered an Order confirming the Plan pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 943(b). In addition to making the findings necessary for confirmation, the Order provided in Paragraph 13 that all assets of the Debt- or would be conveyed to Zaragosa free and clear of all liens upon Zaragosa’s payment of the $215,000 purchase price.

The Order of Confirmation specifically reserved jurisdiction after confirmation and until final consummation to consider the allowance and disallowance of all claims, to [846]*846hear and determine any disputes concerning classification of claims, to authorize and approve interim or final disbursements by the Debtor, and to hear and determine any and all adversary proceedings or contested matters, controversies, suits or disputes which may be pending on the confirmation date as to which the bankruptcy court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 157 and § 1334. Most importantly, the Order of Confirmation provides that the Court shall retain broad jurisdiction “to hear and determine all controversies, suits and disputes that may arise in connection with the interpretation or enforcement of this Plan”, “to issue such orders as may be necessary for the administration and/or consummation of this Plan”, and “to hear and determine all questions and disputes regarding construction of this Order or the Plan and regarding title to the assets of the estate, and to determine all controversies, disputes, conflicts or causes of action, whether or not subject to an action pending as of the confirmation date, between or among any party in interest.”

It is interesting to note that on February 12, 1990, this Court entered an Order on its own motion and directed the Debtor to file all papers necessary for closing the case within 21 days. The Order further provided that in the event the Debtor failed to file necessary closing papers, the Court would consider the entry of an order vacating the Order of Confirmation and in turn dismissal of the case. In response to this Order, the Debtor filed a Motion on February 22, 1990, and sought additional time to close the confirmed case on the basis that there was a controversy pending between the Debtor and Zaragosa concerning Zarago-sa’s alleged failure to provide a maintenance bond for the dam and that the controversy regarding Zaragosa’s obligation to furnish the bond and the amount of the bond must be resolved in this Court. Finally, the Debtor requested additional time to close the ease in the event it was unable to resolve the impasse with Zaragosa so that this Court would be able to interpret the Order of Confirmation and the Contract between Zaragosa and the Debtor.

It appears that Zaragosa has, in fact, paid the sum of $215,000 required by the Order of Confirmation, which sum was used by the Debtor to pay all allowed claims, with the exception of three. According to counsel for the Debtor, these claims have not been paid because the creditors either can not be contacted or are unable to locate and surrender their bonds. The Debtor intends to deposit the funds owing to these three creditors in the registry of the Court.

Based on the Debtor’s payment of all claims with the exception of these three, the Debtor contends that it has substantially consummated the Plan and, therefore, a Final Decree should be entered. In opposition, Zaragosa contends that the Debtor has failed to perform all its obligations under the Plan; specifically, the Debtor has failed to transfer all its assets to Zara-gosa. To rebut Zaragosa’s Objection, it is the contention of the Debtor that Chapter 9, unlike the other relief Chapters, significantly limits the Court’s jurisdiction regarding disputes of this nature and does not grant this Court power to control or interfere with the business affairs of a municipality, particularly with the municipal debtor’s ability to borrow monies. In support of this proposition, the Debtor points out that 11 U.S.C. § 364, which deals with a debtor’s ability to obtain credit, is expressly excluded from Chapter 9 by 11 U.S.C. § 901, et seq. Based on this, it is the contention of the Debtor that its transaction with Zaragosa was simply a transaction whereby the Debtor borrowed funds from Zaragosa and, therefore, any obligations of the Debtor under this transaction are not a concern of this Court. One can give short shrift to this argument even without analyzing the transaction, since it is quite clear that the Debtor in no way obtained credit through the transaction.

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Related

Obtaining credit
11 U.S.C. § 364
Filing of plan
11 U.S.C. § 941
Confirmation
11 U.S.C. § 943(b)
Procedures
28 U.S.C. § 157

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
119 B.R. 844, 1990 Bankr. LEXIS 2096, 1990 WL 144254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-lake-grady-road-bridge-district-flmb-1990.